EL PASO — “These kids are our puppets, and we’re the puppet masters.”
Have you seen this commercial, the one with the hypothetical nicotine mafia? The local media campaign is designed to prevent teens from smoking.
Tobacco continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, making this a top public health priority. Research suggests that 20 to 25 percent of teens, in El Paso and nationwide, experiment with smoking.
Most current adult smokers started as teens, so preventing teens from smoking is a key step to continuing to reduce tobacco use in the community. Once you start, it’s hard to quit.
The ad campaign is designed with an eye toward teenage psychology. Generally, teenagers seek independence, so the campaign’s messages focus on the control that tobacco can have on one’s life.
“The target audience is well-known to want to express their independence,” said Dr. Ted Cooper, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso and principal investigator of the media campaign. “When possible, it’s important to point out that smoking puts them under control of nicotine addiction or the tobacco companies.”
This strategy is consistent with “The Truth” campaign, a national effort that has been recognized as one of the most successful efforts at preventing youth tobacco use.
The commercials don’t spend very much time discussing the health effects of smoking.
“We learned from youth, as well as adults, that fear appeals seem to be less effective than other approaches,” Cooper said.
Moreover, the effects of smoking are generally experienced over time. It could be years before a smoker develops lung cancer, heart disease or other tobacco-related disease. When young people consider smoking, they tend to base their decision upon immediate factors such as what their friends are doing. The puppet master commercial appeals to teens’ more immediate desire to be independent.
If you have teens, you can use these suggestions to help them stay away from smoking:
# Talk to your teens about smoking even if you don’t think they will listen.
# Let your teens know that you disapprove of smoking. Research shows that when parents disapprove of smoking, teens are less likely to smoke.
# Remind them that most teens (75 to 80 percent) do not smoke. While teens want to be independent, they also like to fit in. According to the data, it’s more “normal” not to smoke.
# Reinforce the control message. Let your teens know that the tobacco companies will be happy to take their money for the rest of their lives. Remind them that these companies invest a tremendous amount of money in research and marketing to dupe young people into a lifelong addiction.
In the area of tobacco control, El Paso continues to be a national leader. The city’s Clean Indoor Air Ordinance is a model for other cities. While smoking is on the decline nationwide, El Paso’s adult smoking prevalence has dropped at a rate faster than the rest of the United States.
Future success is tied to preventing teen initiation. Keeping teens away from cigarettes is key to a smoke-free future.
Jon Law is a program officer with the Paso del Norte Health Foundation.
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